Month: August 2009

Aubrey O’Day of Danity Kane and Making the Band 3 has officially launched, Dare to Love, which is the newest line from Heart on My Sleeve.The launch party was held last night at Owl’s Lab, which is featured on ShopNYC Tours’ Chic Boutique Tour! Among Aubrey, some other celebs that joined the party were models Jaslene Gonzalez and Jessica Gomes, Russell Simmons, and actress Samantha Swetra. Here are few of my pics:

If you’ve taken a shopping tour with ShopNYC Tours, please take a moment to review us on TripAdvisor.com by filling in the form below. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. And as always, thank you for shopping with us!

This past weekend was filled with Teen Fashion and Fun! It started on Friday with 6 women (2 teens and 4 adults) from Michigan. They were ready to shop, shop, shop. They had booked the photo shoot for after the tour and due to time constraints we only had 3 hours to find the teens their outfits. So we were definitely on a mission.

We began the tour at Makeup Forever in Greenwich Village, where Floriane (one of the amazing Makeup Forever sales reps) gave them mini-makeovers and they bought some really cool, brightly colored eye pencils. They didn’t want to spend too much time there though. (We already had appointments for them at Mac scheduled for post-tour/pre-photo shoot). So we headed down the street to the first clothing and accessories boutique, Owl’s Lab. The teens loved it, not only for the incredible fashion, but because of the fact that many of the pieces worn on Gossip Girl come from this fabulous boutique. They bought some awesome clothes and accessories that were (OMG) very Serena and Jenny.

Next stop was Rugby, which was actually requested by one of the teens. Rugby was her absolute favorite and she bought a few darling-with-an-edge outfits that were very UES prep. The other teen said she was more of a girly-girl so I walked her down the street to Ibiza where I knew she would find some sweet, feminine and bohemian dresses, skirts and blouses.

Following Greenwich Village, we headed to Soho. By this time I had a great feel for each of the teens’ personal styles so I knew that we had to hit up TopShop. This was a gold mine for both of them! They found a great mix of edgy, funky fashion along with lacey, frilly and chic pieces. While one of the teens found shoes galore, the other found her perfect outfits for the photo shoot.

After TopShop, it was back in the limo and up to the Mac store on 22nd and Fifth Avenue for their makeovers. While they were getting made-up by the Mac professionals, I headed to Magnolia Bakery (usually a stop on the tour but we ran out of time) and grabbed their cupcakes. Once I got back to the Mac store and handed them their sweets they were ready to hop in a cab and head to the photo shoot on location in Chelsea with professional photographer, Caitlin Greer.

In addition to the above Teen Fashion and Fun experience, I also gave a tour on Saturday for a 16-year-old girl and her father. They opted for the Subway/Walking Tour instead of the Limo Tour. We began the tour on Upper Fifth Avenue, where we visited the usual including the Abercrombie & Fitch Flagship, Henri Bendel and Juicy Couture. Then it was into the subway and we headed downtown to Soho, where the teen wanted to find some back-to-school shoes and dresses. She found a cute pair of much-wanted gladiator sandals at David Z and as far as clothing, Joyce Leslie was definitely her favorite. She found several outfits that she really liked and she was pleased (along with her father) to see the amazingly reasonable prices too.

After the tour, her father sent me an e-mail with this message:

“Thank you very much for the help with shopping with my daughter yesterday! She was thrilled with the whole trip to NYC and the shopping was the highlight for her. We also did well back home – my wife was surprisingly impressed with my daughter’s purchases…”

If you’d like to book a Teen Fashion and Fun Tour or Teen Fashion and Fun Tour with a Fashion Photo Shoot, please visit www.shop-nyctours.com/tours for more information. I look forward to shopping with you!

ShopNYC’s Guided Shopping Tours are very informative considering the information provided by the tour guide about NYC shopping and the video fashion updates shown prior to stopping at the boutiques. The benefit of having a tour guide is that they can pretty much answer any questions you might have about shopping in NYC and NYC in general. Also, with the guided tours, there is the opportunity to learn about the NYC subway system from the tour guide on our Subway/Walking tours or the opportunity to be chauffeured around the city on our Luxury Transportation tours. There are, however, some people who prefer to explore shopping in NYC at their own pace, without a guide. While private, guided shopping tours can be customized to their liking (as far as length, type of stores visited, time of day, etc.), they are perfect for someone with a slightly bigger budget. ShopNYC Tours wanted to offer something that provides those on a smaller budget with the opportunity to take a tour at their own pace with almost all of the amenities provided on the guided tours (detailed directions, boutique descriptions and options for lunch, cocktails, etc.) which is why we’ve created Self-Guided Tour Itineraries.

The Self-Guided Tour Itineraries that ShopNYC currently offers are Fashionista Favs, for those looking to shop hip and chic NYC boutiques, Vintage Chic, for those vintage and consignment lovers, and Home Décor, for those who want to add a unique flair to their home. While our guided tours are usually 3-4 hours allowing approximately 15-20 minutes in each store, the Self-Guided Tour Itineraries typically provide a 4-5 hour day of shopping which can easily be modified to a 7-8 hour day if you want to spend more time in each boutique. Another perk of the Self-Guided Tour Itineraries is that they start at $9.95 for an e-mailed version and go up to $19.95 for a printed version that can be delivered to your hotel OR mailed directly to your home. If you have a group of people, you can explore NYC with just ONE itinerary for $9.95 or $19.95, as opposed to paying $29 PER PERSON and up for a guided shopping tour.

Something else that’s great about the Self-Guided Tour Itineraries is that they can be customized, meaning we can create an itinerary based on someone’s preferences. For example, I had a customer last week that contacted me about the Home Décor tour but they had some special requests for stores and neighborhoods that they wanted to visit. So I came up with a Customized Home Décor Tour Itinerary for just $59 and delivered it right to her hotel.

Depending on what people are looking to do, we can customize tour itineraries for high fashion boutiques, consignment boutiques, vintage boutiques, gift shops, home décor stores, pet stores, Bride-to-be boutiques, and Mommy-to-be boutiques. All of these itineraries can be customized to a preferred length and preferred mode of transportation. Customized Self-Guided Tour Itineraries have a slightly longer turnaround (approximately 1 week) and prices vary based on your requests.

We will soon be offering 2 new itineraries: NYC Nightlife and Low-Key Lounges. These itineraries will provide detailed directions and insider tips for a night out in NYC (for club-lovers and lounge lovers alike.)

Last weekend’s Teen Fashion and Fun Tour didn’t just consist of shopping the hottest teen spots in NYC, but it also allowed the teen birthday girl to show off her new outfits in her very own photo shoot following the tour!

The day began at Bryant Park as usual, with the soon to be 13-year-old and her mother who were visiting from Louisiana. Since it was just the two of them, they decided to take the subway/walking version of the tour which provided them with a budget-friendly option and also an opportunity to take the tour at a slightly slower pace. It also gave the teen birthday girl more time to try on clothes, which was important since she would be going straight to the photo shoot after. From Bryant Park, we headed up Fifth Avenue and the first stop was the Juicy Couture Flagship store. The birthday teen was super-excited to visit this store and headed straight upstairs to find some dresses for her photo shoot. She ended up opting for a very fashionable item—a black velour, tank with long pants jumpsuit. It was adorable on her and also very now. While her mom made the purchase, I took the teen over to the doggy corner where she looked at all the cute merchandise and told me about her two chihuahuas!

After Juicy, we headed up to Henri Bendel where I told the Louisiana ladies that they could actually see some unique, independent designer jewelry and they could also watch some fabulous 30-minute shoemakers as they cobble their designs. The birthday teen even bought a pair of these beautifully made sandals. The process began with the shoemaker choosing a sole that fit her foot, and then the birthday teen had to choose the color straps she wanted (there were about 25 colors to choose from), any gold, silver, or rhinestone ornaments she wanted (such as butterflies, starfish, hearts or stars) and the pattern she wanted the straps to follow. After all of that was chosen (which took about 25 minutes), the ladies were told to come back in 30 minutes to pick up the shoes. They still had a lot of shopping to do so the cobblers offered to hold the sandals for them to the end of day.

We continued one more block up Fifth Avenue and headed to the Abercrombie & Fitch flagship, which is ALWAYS a favorite of the teens. We browsed for some dresses but didn’t have much luck so she decided to go the skirt route. They had some really cute summer skirts and tees to match. The only drawback of that store was that we had to spend more time in the check out line than we had spent shopping. So I offered to wait in the line upstairs while they waited downstairs and that speeded things up a little at least.

After Abercrombie, we walked over to the subway and headed to Soho. They were really hungry but we were running out of time to shop so I suggested they grab a slice of Two Boots Pizza, which is one of the best in the city. Yum!

After a quick bite, the teen told me she wanted to look for shoes so I took them to several shoe stores. She was hoping to find the Converse tennis shoes that lace up to the knee like boots so I took them to a store where they had over 200 styles of Converse. Unfortunately we found out that they don’t carry those specific shoes anymore. I also suggested they take a quick look at Joyce Leslie since they carry some shoes that are both stylish and inexpensive. We stopped for a moment but since we were running out of time they marked it as a place to visit again the next day. We didn’t have time to head to TopShop or to the Marc Jacobs Special Collection store in the West Village either, but I explained that the maps and addresses of these stores along with all the other stores we visited were in their ShopNYC Tours Printed Shopping Guides that they could refer to after the tour.

We headed back uptown and since I didn’t have time to serve the Teeny Cosmo on the tour, I gave her the glass and the drink in a separate container to use as a prop in her photo shoot. The birthday teen found her photo shoot outfits while on the tour which is really all that mattered. She went straight to hair and make-up (the make-up artist met her at their hotel) and then hopped in a cab to Chelsea for the photo shoot that was going to be done on location. Overall, this was a great birthday present and a memorable New York experience!

I absolutely LOVE North Carolina! So when I found out I was giving a shopping tour for a woman from Greenville who currently lives in Raleigh, I was really looking forward to some “Carolina bonding.” Afterall, I went to college in Wilmington, and pretty much partied all over the state (in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Chapel Hill and Greenville) during those days of youth….. 😉 I have a lot of fond memories of NC.

This woman was really sweet, early 30s and engaged (her fiance lives in New York.) She works as an attorney and pretty much comes to New York every weekend to visit. The shopping tour was a gift from him and since it was just a solo tour, he opted for the subway/walking tour which she actually preferred. She said she felt like walking and taking the subway was more authentic to NYC. She also commented how she could see tourists really benefitting from having a tour guide to teach them about the subway system.

At any rate, the tour stops were all the same as usual. In Greenwich Village, she particularly liked La Petit Coquette (as did her fiance) for their classy lingerie. (In fact, I think she pointed out some neglige sets she liked to give him an idea of her taste.) She also tried on quite a few outfits in Owl’s Lab, which seemed to be one of her favorites. She took a card and made a note that she wanted to go back there after the tour. She wanted to have some time to think about her purchases before she bought them–smart girl!

She actually made a comment halfway through the tour that even though she lived in New York for almost five years and visits every weekend, she had never been to the stores I was introducing her to. Like most New Yorkers, she was always too busy to explore the often “hidden gem” boutiques in the city.

When we got to Soho, she really enjoyed New York Look and tried on a few things there as well. Instead of sticking to the more commercial stores, after New York Look, I suggested we head to West Soho to visit some of the vintage boutiques. She really enjoyed Chelsea Girl Couture and Laurel Canyon (where she tried on a pair of their awesome vintage cowboy boots.) I also mentioned Flying A and she commented that she had been there before and had been meaning to go back. I told her that this would be a good time, since they offer 15% off vintage items to my tours.

While in transit to the last stop on the tour, we talked about some of the amazing vintage stores in North Carolina, including Buffalo Exchange (which I told her recently opened a store in NYC) and a lot of the cool vintage shops in Chapel Hill. We also talked about downtown Raleigh and how it’s such a beautiful, quaint town. I told her I went to school in Wilmington and she told me she had been there within the last month and actually bought the sandals she was wearing while she was there. (These sandals were adorable and she got SO many compliments on them throughout the tour!)

Darling, in the West Village/Meatpacking area, was the last stop, which I knew she’d enjoy because by this time, I had a good feel for her personal taste and style. I also think she was a little overwhelmed by this point since we had been shopping for 3 1/2 hours and she had seen a lot that she really liked and wanted to go back to see after the tour. She had also been awake since the crack of dawn and had plans to go out with friends that evening so I walked her to the nearest subway and pointed her in the direction of her fiance’s. She was really grateful to me for the tour and said she had a wonderful time. I had a great time too. We hugged goodbye. I’m telling you, it’s something about those Carolina connections…… 🙂

If you’d like to take one of our subway/walking shopping tours, visit www.shop-nyctours.com/tours for more information and to purchase tickets. I hope to shop with you soon!

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Mammi-Ama (also known as the Purple Vintage Space Princess!) I was at the Vbar Cafe (or what I refer to as my office) on Sullivan Street ordering a coffee and she approached me about being on “Tough Love.” We had a short conversation about the show and then she went on to tell me about her music and her passion for vintage fashion. We exchanged cards in the hopes to network since she is so fond of vintage and I give a Vintage Boutique Tour here in the city.

When she left Vbar I have to admit I was very intrigued by her name (Purple Vintage Space Princess) so I Googled her. When her site came up (www.purplevintagespaceprincess.com) I was super impressed to see all that she’s accomplished. Her music is awesome (she was on the Mike & Juliet Show and there’s a video of her performing) and her online vintage fashion store is SO unique. And–and her prices are actually affordable!!

Within a few days of meeting, we had gotten in touch because she was so impressed with what I do and I was so impressed with what she does that we decided to have a meeting and discuss cross-promoting. I guess the rest is history……

I’m going to be adding a link for her online store to my ShopNYC Tours website soon and she’s going to do the same for me on her site! So if you’re in the mood for some great music, some online vintage shopping or some inspiration, visit Mammi-Ama’s site www.purplevintagespaceprincess.com.

Saturday’s tour was the first Chic Boutique Tour that I’ve given in a while. My Vintage Boutique and Teen Fashion and Fun Tours have been more popular, probably because of the state of the economy. The Chic Boutique Tour definitely visits boutiques with higher overall price points than the other tours, but you can still find select items that don’t cost a fortune, and window shopping is always welcome too.

The group was a lot of fun. There were two women from Reno, Nevada and then, of course, the bachelorette party, from Pittsburgh, PA. Due to the size of the group, we took a limo, which always puts a smile on women’s faces–especially when it’s a surprise.

First stop was in Greenwich Village at Make-up Forever. The bride-to-be got some advice from the sales associates (who are all professional make-up artists) about how to do her makeup for the big day. A couple other ladies in her party made some purchases too, while the ladies from Reno visited an art gallery across the street.

Around the corner on University Place was Pia, where all of the ladies took a look at the beautiful handbags. Bruce, the owner, was friendly, as always. They all loved the store but the price range wasn’t in their budget. So I suggested, since it was a bachelorette party, that they head across the street to La Petit Coquette to take a look at the cute, feminine and funky lingerie selection. The ladies from Reno showed a strong interest in gift shops and housewares stores so I pointed them in the direction of William Wayne & Company. In the last 15 minutes of our stop in Greenwich Village, both groups ended up in Ibiza, which they all seemed to take a strong liking too. They were all pretty amazed with their beautiful collection of jewelry, their cool hats and their funky handbags.

After Greenwich Village, it was back to the limo and off to Soho. Since I had a good feel for the group by this point, I decided to take them to the west side of Soho rather than the east side, since the boutiques in that area are more unique than commercial but still reasonable in pricing. They visited Laurel Canyon Vintage (one of the ladies in the bachelorette party wanted to see their cowboy boot collection after viewing the video), Chelsea Girl Couture (one of the ladies from Reno was interested in the Moon Bags after viewing the video), The Hat Shoppe, Lunessa and DKNY to name a few. The ladies from Reno also visited Clio (a housewares store.) This was a perfect area for the combination of groups since there is such a wide range of boutiques. There was definitely something for everyone.

After Soho, we got back in the limo and they each enjoyed a glass of champagne as we headed over to the West Village/Meatpacking District. Next stop was Darling, which is one of my personal favorites. Darling is awesome because they have a range of contemporary fashion, vintage fashion, vintage-inspired fashion and of course, a lovely dress collection on the lower level. They also have some amazing accessories like broaches, earrings, necklaces, belts, and hats to name a few. Darling carries some select handbags and shoes and some scented candles and oils for the home, which gives the entire store the most pleasant smell.

Everyone enjoyed this store but since the bachelorette party was taking more time than the other women, I suggested they head over to the next block where they could visit Mxyplyzyk, which is one of the coolest gift shops in the city. I also suggested that they visit Tea & Sympathy across the street where they could find some great gifts as well. I would normally suggest The Bathroom too but it turns out that they’re Greenwich Avenue store closed. Times are definitely tough.

The West Village/Meatpacking was our last stop and after some successful purchases, the limo picked us up and dropped off each group at their requested location (another advantage of having a small group), which they really appreciated, considering it was raining like crazy all day.

If you’d like to do something special in NYC for your bride-to-be, visit www.shop-nyctours.com and book one of our tours. Both public and private groups tours are available. Hope to shop with you soon!

Saturday’s Teen Fashion and Fun Tour was great, not only for the teen, but for the adults too! There were 3 ladies—one being a young lady of about thirteen. I can honestly say that all three of them enjoyed the tour immensely. From Fifth Avenue’s Abercrombie and Bendel’s to Noho’s and Soho’s Joyce Leslie and TopShop, they shopped, shopped, shopped! They enjoyed the fashion videos I showed them along the way and seemed to gain a lot of knowledge from them. (They were making comments about info from the videos when they visited some of the stores.)

It was a rainy day but fortunately, with the spot-to-spot transportation provided, it didn’t really make a difference. They barely even needed their umbrellas.

As usual, in the West Village, I picked up their cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery while they browsed the Marc Jacobs Special Items Store. The ladies told me that they had been to the Georgetown Bakery outside of DC and were anxious to compare the cupcakes to Magnolia’s.

When they finished their shopping, we dropped them off at their final destination, which was Chelsea Piers. (Sometimes I can drop people off at a place of their choice as long as it’s in Manhattan and time permits.) On the way to the Piers, they ate their cupcakes and came to the conclusion that Magnolia’s icing was much better but that if they combined it with Georgetown’s cake, you would have the perfect cupcake!

As the tour came to an end, the ladies said they had a wonderful time and that they would have never found the stores I took them to on their own. In fact, they were in Soho the day before the tour and said they had no idea about TopShop (which was one of their favorites) and passed it up. They also absolutely loved having their own transportation around the city. The commented on how nice it was to not have to walk everywhere. They also said they would tell all their friends about ShopNYC Tours and that I should consider starting tours in San Francisco (which is where they were from.) I think I’ll have to stick to NYC for now, but it’s definitely a possibility in the future!

If you’d like to have a ShopNYC Tours experience, visit www.shop-nyctours.com to book a tour.

Last Saturday’s Teen Fashion and Fun Tour was aweseome! There were two teens from Charlotte, NC with their moms and one teen from Texas with her mom. They were such a sweet group. They (teens and moms) were really excited to find out that since another group cancelled last minute they were all going in a limo! Their faces just lit up.

We started at the usual first stop–the Abercrombie & Fitch Flagship which they LOVED! They all took pictures with the hot male model in the front of the store (including the moms) and they shopped for quite a while. They all came out with purchases so it was definitely a successful stop.

Next up was Henri Bendel. The moms loved this store. They got some mini-makeovers in Bendel’s AMAZING beauty department where they have brands such as NARS, MAC and Chanel just to name a few.

Juicy Couture was up next and we took some cute pictures! Take a look:

After Juicy, it was back into the limo and time for the “Teeny” Cosmos. Before they guzzled them down, I had a chance to take a quick pic:

They all kept their glasses as a souvenir 🙂

Next we headed downtown to Noho to Joyce Leslie, which the teens ALWAYS love. The price is definitely right!

After they made their purchases it was time for Topshop in Soho. The ladies from Charlotte had been in Soho the day before but said that they walked right past Topshop, not knowing what it was. I showed them videos about Topshop in the limo on the way downtown and it got them really excited to see it. It is the FIRST Topshop in the US afterall. People love the fact that Kate Moss has a line there. They also love the fact that you can find trendy, good quality clothing, shoes and accessories that won’t break your budget!

Last stop for the Teen Tour was the West Village at Marc Jacobs Special Collections. Again, both the teens and the moms loved the concept of Marc Jacobs for a fraction of the price. Who wouldn’t? They also headed over to Olive & Bette’s, which is a favorite of mine. And they took a walk down to Magnolia Bakery to see the scrumptious cupcakes they would soon be eating!

On the way back uptown the teens enjoyed their cupcakes while their moms enjoyed relaxing in the limo. Anyone would enjoy it after all that power shopping!

If you’d like to spend an afternoon shopping NYC with your teen (or your mom), visit www.shop-nyctours.com to book a tour. I hope to shop with you soon!

Also, join ShopNYC Tours on June 25th for an amazing event to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure! To buy tickets to the event or (if you’re out of the NYC area) to make an online donation, visit: www.philanthropiceventssponsorspage.com/natasha